Autolink
Encyclopedia
Autolink AS is a Norwegian
distributor of automobiles. With port facilities in Drammen
, Oslo
and Malmö
, Autolink prepares and redistributes to dealerships three quarters of all automobiles in Norway. The company has outsourcing
agreements with many of the largest automotive importers in the country. It also owns the railway company Cargolink
and the shipping company Motorships
.
Transport from the factory, or from large, central ports in Europe to Norway is performed by the subsidiary Motorships
using car carriers, with 150 annual calls. At the import terminal, all cars are quality controlled. The terminals in Drammen and Oslo have storage capacity for 11,000 vehicles. Autolink also offeres a wide range of installation and customization services. Transport wax is removed on all cars.
Distribution is performed by autorack
train from Drammen and Oslo. The subsidiary Cargolink
operates ten Di 6 locomotives and more than 100 autoracks, and annually distributions 50,000 automobiles on 600 trains to terminals in Stavanger
, Bergen
, Åndalsnes
, Trondheim
, Mosjøen
, Mo i Rana
, Bodø
and Narvik
. At the terminals, Autolink redistributes the automobiles using 60 trucks to the dealerships.
diesel locomotives have been leased from Vossloh
, with options for later purchase. Operations started on 2 November.
, for operation of the autorack trains. On 31 January 2007, Autolink bought 40% of the private railway company Ofotbanen
, and transferred the freight contract to them. This made Autolink Ofotbanen's largest customer. In March, Ofotbanen ordered additional 70 new autoracks for NOK 175 million.
Ofotbanen had since their establishment had economic problems. The contract with Autolink had helped, but in July 2008, Autolink cancelled their contract with Ofotbanen. Two weeks later, Autolink announced that they would establish their own railway company, which they had been working with since April. They stated that the deal with Ofotbanen was discontinued because the majority owner—Rail Management, owned by Michael Steimler—would not allow additional private placement
s of capital, nor sell their shares to Autolink. From 29 July all automotive trains stopped running, and no cars were transported for ten days. The same day, all board members in Ofotbanen from Autolink withdrew their positions.
The matter ended in court, regarding the matter of if Autolink should be allowed to take control over four train radios that were located in locomotives owned by Autolink, but operated by Ofotbanen. In a shareholder agreement between Autolink and Rail Management, the ownership of the train radios had been transferred to Autolink, but the agreement has clauses that specified that Autolink could not start a competing railway company. Stating that Autolink had behaved disloyal with regard to the contract, Ofoten District Court
ruled on 17 July 2008 against Autolink's demand for an interim order to transfer the ownership to Autolink. The court ruled that an interim decision could not be made due to the complexity of the contracts, and that a normal lawsuit would have to be carried out to determine the matter. What was agreed upon was that Autolink on 13 February 2008 had bought five shunters from Ofotbanen for NOK 12 million, of which NOK 9.5 million was paid by Autolink deleting debt.
Ofotbanen lost their license from the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate
on 7 October 2008 at 12:00. This was because Ofotbanen had not documented necessary accounts for 2007, nor provided evidence of necessary liquidity. On 24 October, the company was declared bankrupt. Rail Managemens subsequently established the new company Ofotbanen Drift, and stated that the cause of the bankruptcy was that Autolink had not let them make a private placement of NOK 10 million.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
distributor of automobiles. With port facilities in Drammen
Drammen
Drammen is a city in Buskerud County, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the eastern and most populated part of Norway.-Location:...
, Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
and Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, Autolink prepares and redistributes to dealerships three quarters of all automobiles in Norway. The company has outsourcing
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
agreements with many of the largest automotive importers in the country. It also owns the railway company Cargolink
Cargolink
Cargolink AS is a Norwegian railway company. Owned by the automotive distribution company Autolink, Cargolink has operated both autorack and container trains since November 2008. Cargolink has a fleet of ten diesel locomotives, five shunters, 100 autoracks and 60 container cars...
and the shipping company Motorships
Motorships
Motorships AS is a Norwegian shipping company that operates car carriers for its owner Autolink. The company makes 150 annual calls at Drammen, where it delivers cars from automotive manufactures throughout the world. Three quarters of all automotive imports to Norway operate through Autolink...
.
Operations
Autolink has 200 employees and NOK 430 million in revenue. Head offices are located in Drammen, while additional facilities are located in Oslo. In Sweden, Autolink has established itself in Malmö through the subsidiary Autolink Sweden AB. The Swedish division has 40 employees. The company imports 90,000 automobiles per year. The company was formerly known as Drammen Bilhavn, and is privately owned.Transport from the factory, or from large, central ports in Europe to Norway is performed by the subsidiary Motorships
Motorships
Motorships AS is a Norwegian shipping company that operates car carriers for its owner Autolink. The company makes 150 annual calls at Drammen, where it delivers cars from automotive manufactures throughout the world. Three quarters of all automotive imports to Norway operate through Autolink...
using car carriers, with 150 annual calls. At the import terminal, all cars are quality controlled. The terminals in Drammen and Oslo have storage capacity for 11,000 vehicles. Autolink also offeres a wide range of installation and customization services. Transport wax is removed on all cars.
Distribution is performed by autorack
Autorack
An autorack, also known as an auto carrier, is a specialized piece of railroad rolling stock used to transport automobiles and light trucks, generally from factories to automotive distributors...
train from Drammen and Oslo. The subsidiary Cargolink
Cargolink
Cargolink AS is a Norwegian railway company. Owned by the automotive distribution company Autolink, Cargolink has operated both autorack and container trains since November 2008. Cargolink has a fleet of ten diesel locomotives, five shunters, 100 autoracks and 60 container cars...
operates ten Di 6 locomotives and more than 100 autoracks, and annually distributions 50,000 automobiles on 600 trains to terminals in Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
, Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, Åndalsnes
Åndalsnes
is a town in the municipality of Rauma in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is the administrative center of Rauma. The town has a population of 2,207...
, Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, Mosjøen
Mosjøen
-History:Mosjøen was founded in the 17th century as local farmers met here to trade, and has been growing since then. Sawmills were built here in 1866 by a British company, and Mosjøen got township rights in 1875. It is the oldest town in the Helgeland region and the second oldest town in Nordland...
, Mo i Rana
Mo i Rana
Mo i Rana is a town in the municipality of Rana, Nordland, Norway, located just south of the Arctic Circle and in the region Helgeland. The town is called "Mo i Rana" to distinquish it from other places named Mo - most notably the town of Mosjøen, also in Helgeland - though locally the town is...
, Bodø
Bodø
is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...
and Narvik
Narvik
is the third largest city and municipality in Nordland county, Norway by population. Narvik is located on the shores of the Narvik Fjord . The municipality is part of the Ofoten traditional region of North Norway, inside the arctic circle...
. At the terminals, Autolink redistributes the automobiles using 60 trucks to the dealerships.
Cargolink
Work with establishing the new company was initiated by Autolink in March 2008, with the company formally established on 27 March. It received an operating license from the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate on 18 September 2008. Five shunters that were operated by Ofotbanen, but owned by Autolink, were transferred to Cargolink. In addition, ten Di 6NSB Di 6
NSB Di 6 is a class of twelve diesel-electric locomotives built by Siemens for the Norwegian State Railways from 1995 to 1996. Twelve engines were built at the MaK plant in Kiel whilst it was part of Siemens Schienenfahrzeugtechnik, and numbered Di 6-661 to 6-672.-Construction:During the late...
diesel locomotives have been leased from Vossloh
Vossloh
Vossloh AG is a German transport technology manufacturer based in the Westphalian town of Werdohl. The group has 4,700 employees , and generated sales of €1.2 billion, of which approximately 60% came from the rail infrastructure division, and the remainder from the motive power and components...
, with options for later purchase. Operations started on 2 November.
Ofotbanen
Traditionally, Autolink had used the Norwegian State Railways, and subsequently their subsidiary CargoNetCargoNet
CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight trains on the Norwegian railway system. It was formed as NSB Gods after NSB fissioned into a passenger and a freight company. NSB Gods changed its name to CargoNet at the beginning of 2002. It is owned by NSB and the Swedish freight company Green Cargo...
, for operation of the autorack trains. On 31 January 2007, Autolink bought 40% of the private railway company Ofotbanen
Ofotbanen AS
Ofotbanen Drift AS, trading as Ofotbanen, is a Norwegian passenger and freight railway company. The company operates a fleet of six locomotives, three multiple units, 22 passenger and 48 freight cars. The sole service is the passenger train Unionsexpressen between Oslo and Stockholm, but the...
, and transferred the freight contract to them. This made Autolink Ofotbanen's largest customer. In March, Ofotbanen ordered additional 70 new autoracks for NOK 175 million.
Ofotbanen had since their establishment had economic problems. The contract with Autolink had helped, but in July 2008, Autolink cancelled their contract with Ofotbanen. Two weeks later, Autolink announced that they would establish their own railway company, which they had been working with since April. They stated that the deal with Ofotbanen was discontinued because the majority owner—Rail Management, owned by Michael Steimler—would not allow additional private placement
Private placement
Private placement is a funding round of securities which are sold without an initial public offering, usually to a small number of chosen private investors...
s of capital, nor sell their shares to Autolink. From 29 July all automotive trains stopped running, and no cars were transported for ten days. The same day, all board members in Ofotbanen from Autolink withdrew their positions.
The matter ended in court, regarding the matter of if Autolink should be allowed to take control over four train radios that were located in locomotives owned by Autolink, but operated by Ofotbanen. In a shareholder agreement between Autolink and Rail Management, the ownership of the train radios had been transferred to Autolink, but the agreement has clauses that specified that Autolink could not start a competing railway company. Stating that Autolink had behaved disloyal with regard to the contract, Ofoten District Court
Ofoten District Court
Ofoten District Court is the district court serving Ballangen, Evenes, Gratangen, Hamarøy, Lavangen, Lødingen, Narvik, Salangen, Tjeldsund og Tysfjord. Located in Narvik, the cases may be appealed to Hålogaland Court of Appeal. The court has a chief judge, two professional judges and one deputy...
ruled on 17 July 2008 against Autolink's demand for an interim order to transfer the ownership to Autolink. The court ruled that an interim decision could not be made due to the complexity of the contracts, and that a normal lawsuit would have to be carried out to determine the matter. What was agreed upon was that Autolink on 13 February 2008 had bought five shunters from Ofotbanen for NOK 12 million, of which NOK 9.5 million was paid by Autolink deleting debt.
Ofotbanen lost their license from the Norwegian Railway Inspectorate
Norwegian Railway Inspectorate
The Norwegian Railway Inspectorate is a Norwegian government agency responsible for control and supervision of rail transport in Norway, including railways, tramways, rapid transits, heritage railways and side tracks....
on 7 October 2008 at 12:00. This was because Ofotbanen had not documented necessary accounts for 2007, nor provided evidence of necessary liquidity. On 24 October, the company was declared bankrupt. Rail Managemens subsequently established the new company Ofotbanen Drift, and stated that the cause of the bankruptcy was that Autolink had not let them make a private placement of NOK 10 million.